Raiders falter in loss to Washington

The Oakland Raiders went into Washington 2-0 for the first time since 2002, the same year they last made the Super Bowl.

Taking on the Redskins on Sunday Night Football, quarterback Derek Carr and the Raiders looked out-powered both on offense and defense.

Carr struggled to find any chemistry with his receivers, throwing two first-half interceptions right into the teeth of the Redskins defenders.

Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins took advantage by finding the end zone twice in the first half. With starting running back Rob Kelley out with a rib injury, Cousins found backup Chris Thompson out of the backfield and scampered for a 22-yard touchdown for the first scoring play of the game.

Starting tight end Jordan Reed was also ruled out of the game due to injury, but his backup also made a big play. Late in the first half Cousins found veteran tight end Vernon Davis down the seam for an 18-yard touchdown to put the Redskins up 14-0.

The Redskins defense held Carr and the Raiders offense in check the entire first half, holding the Pro Bowl quarterback to just 32 yards passing in the first half.

Already down 14-0, the Raiders once again gave way to the Redskins offense heading into the second half, and it didn’t get any easier for Ken Norton, Jr. and the Raiders defense.

Cousins kept finding running back Thompson out of the backfield whenever he needed a key first down, leading it to another crucial touchdown pass. Eventually Cousins threw the ball deep to his big wide receiver Josh Doctson, who hauled in a tough pass over cornerback David Amerson for a big 52-yard touchdown to take the 21-0 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the third quarter.

Looking to spark the offense in anyway possible, Carr couldn’t make it happen as the offensive line once again gave way to the Redskins defense, giving up two sacks on the next set of downs and forcing another punt by Marquette King to give the Redskins short field position. After forcing a three-and-out, Redskins kicker Dustin Hopkins missed a 52-yard field goal that would’ve extended Washington’s lead.

The Raiders offense once again couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity, but it was punter King who once again gave the offense another opportunity when James Cowser recovered a muffed punt by Jamison Crowder at the Redskins 18-yard line.

Finally, Carr would take advantage by finding one of his newest targets in tight end Jared Cook who scampered 20 yards for a touchdown to finally get the Raiders into the end zone and draw the deficit to just 21-7 in the third quarter.

Looking to get back into the game, the Raiders defense forced a 3rd and 19 but Cousins found Thompson once again on a screen to the outside which scampered 74 yards deep into the Raiders territory. The Raiders defense would hold, but Washington would score another field goal to extend the lead to 24-7.

The Raiders offense got another break when Redskins running back Samaje Perine fumbled the ball and gave the ball back to the Raiders within their own 5-yard line. But with only four yards to go, the Raiders threw three-straight incompletions and had to settle for a field goal to bring the score to 24-10.

But the Raiders defense just couldn’t stop Thompson and the Redskins offense. Jay Gruden and his offensive line continued to dominate the line of scrimmage against the Raiders defense, pushing the ensuing drive deep into Raiders territory once again and tacking on another field goal to extend the lead once again.

The Raiders wouldn’t be able to get back into the game, finishing 0-for-11 on third down en route to a big 27-10 loss to the Redskins to suffer their first loss of the season.

In all, the Raiders totaled just 128 total yards while giving up 472 yards to the Redskins offense.

The Raiders will fly across country back to Oakland, before heading to Denver to take on the Broncos next week after they lost to the Buffalo Bills this week.